lie, lady, lie

Nobody questions Bob Dylan's musical genius, but grammarian he was not, and the song Lay, Lady, Lay, one of the most popular songs of his early career, has led a generation astray. I have to say that Lie, Lady, Lie, however, misses something essential about the poetry of lyrics, even as it misleads. Bob Dylan, of course, was not imploring his lady-love to tell a lie, but rather to incline, or lie down across his big brass bed. Okay, we'll give him a pass since he's a rock star. Writers don't get off so easy.

I have my own grammar issues, particularly with lay and lie. I've figured out present tense. I know that while I lie on the big brass bed (not Dylan's!), I lay my teddy bear down on the bed. But past tense still gives me problems so much that I must consult my go-to grammar genius, Mignon Fogarty, aka Grammar Girl. Here is the sentence that was giving me fits, from my novel Fagin's Boys:

Rose had laid in a hospital bed for the past two months, most of that time barely conscious.

I knew that wasn't right, but not only was I not sure of the past tense, I was even more unsure of the past participle rules. Grammar Girl provided a nice graphic to help me out:

Beyond a doubt, Rose had lain on that hospital bed for the past two months, barely conscious. Poor Rose. Lucky for us that we have Grammar Girl. Consult the gadget on the right for grammatically correct podcasts and articles.

Garnet